Patients Participation Group update
Have you heard of the NHS HEALTH IMPROVEMENT ADVICE
CENTRE? If you have a health issue, you have probably seen a GP,
a specialist consultant, have had some tests and you may be on a
treatment (drugs, physiotherapy etc.). Then what? If we need more
information, more support and sound advice, where can we turn?
The ‘Here for Health’ Improvement Advice Centre at the John
Radcliffe Hospital was set up in 2014 and has developed year after
year to respond to the needs of patients, visitors and staff in
Oxfordshire. It is the only centre of its kind in the county within a
hospital. It gives “advice on healthy living and on how to reduce your
risk of ill health”. Who runs the Centre? Qualified Health Advisers do,
with much experience and “skills in the promotion and maintenance
of healthy behaviours”. The advice given is “based on current
evidence and policy-relevant research".
Useful Partnerships The Centre has developed partnerships with
OUH departments, community services and the charity sector. Last
year alone they launched a new Oxfordshire Mental Health
Partnership bringing six local mental health NHS organisations
together with the charity sector. They’ve teamed up with OUH
Oncology and Macmillan Cancer Support to host a free Health and
Wellbeing event for anyone affected by cancer. To help patients deal
with obesity, diabetes and related conditions, they have worked with
Good Food Oxford and the County Council for the nationwide SUGAR
SMART campaign and can provide excellent information related to
those conditions. Moreover, they have begun regular ward visits
within the John Radcliffe hospital to help support vulnerable patients
prior to their discharge from hospital, improving patient confidence in
self-management and self-care. Those partnerships bring numerous
benefits to patients, such as helping to access the best services in
the community, allowing the staff in the Centre to pass on useful
information to all who want to better manage their health and improve
their wellbeing. It’s good to go there to find out about specialist clinics,
such as a smoking cessation clinic with a 12 week programme
including free therapy and behaviour-change support or another clinic
supporting families with health problems associated with weight.
Referral system Staff within the OUH trust are able to refer patients
to the Health Improvement Advice Centre using the new e-referral
function set-up on the electronic patient records system.